What you see is what you get

A recent analysis of Federal Election Commission campaign records shows that 32 members of Congress, including Rodney Alexander of Quitman, dispensed more than $2 million in campaign funds to pay relatives' salaries during the 2012 election cycle.

Lawmakers have hired their children, spouses, aunts, parents and in-laws as consultants, accountants and record keepers, the examination shows. In some cases, multiple members of the family joined the payroll.

Alexander, a Republican whose district includes northeastern and most of central Louisiana, for instance, paid his daughter, Lisa Lowe, more than $73,000 between Jan. 1, 2011, and Dec. 31. 2012. Another daughter, Ginger Robinson, also works for the campaign and collected $57,000 in salary during the 2012 election cycle.

Alexander, a six-term congressman, said his daughter majored in finance in college and handles the day-to-day running of his campaign. Robinson is a certified public accountant and prepares filings for the Federal Election Commission, he said.

"It's a modest income for what they do," he said. "What's funny to me is that it would be OK for me to pay a complete stranger $100,000 to do what they do."

There's nothing illegal about the practice, and it does not involve public funds. The purpose of reporting the associations is transparency for the donors who may be unaware.

But in Alexander's case, unlike some others whose associations were reported, we appreciate his willingness to answer questions about his hires and to provide further transparency about his campaign activities.

Both Lowe and Robinson are more than qualified for the trusted positions they held in Alexander's campaign. Their salaries are in line.

This shows a responsibility to those who contributed to the campaign, and also to the people Alexander represents.

Rodney Alexander, to borrow a technology phrase, is "wysiwyg." What you see is what you get.

He's got nothing to hide, and this kind of transparency proves it.

The editorials in this column represent the opinions of The News-Star's editorial board, composed of President and Publisher David B. Petty, Executive Editor Kathy Spurlock and community representatives Kay Kellogg Katz, Harris Brown and Will Sutton.

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What you see is what you get

A recent analysis of Federal Election Commission campaign records shows that 32 members of Congress, including Rodney Alexander of Quitman, dispensed more than $2 million in campaign funds to pay